Abbott Caused Inflation

Our dear governor, Greg Abbott, likes to claim the superiority of his administration and policies in hosting the supposed economic success of Texas. In reality Texas has some of the most economically disadvantaged citizens in the country and higher wealth disparity between its citizens than 37 other states. Texas, unlike California – the state conservatives love to bash, doesn’t even make the top 25 in gross domestic product per resident.

Most recently conservatives have been bashing President Joe Biden on his handling of the economy and the “security” of the southern border. Abbott and his fellow liars claim that the current state of inflation is somehow Biden’s fault, especially high gas prices and that Biden has an open door policy on the Mexican border.

Let’s be clear, no president controls gas prices to any great degree. Oil and gasoline are international commodities and their prices fluctuate based on projected availability of that commodity. The notion that “energy independence” and higher production in the U.S. would somehow insulate us from price fluctuations is beyond ludicrous. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine along the subsequent embargo of its oil shipments has made oil more scarce on the world market and countries that previously purchased Russian oil now must buy it from somewhere else and even if it isn’t U.S. oil directly oil produced here still ends up covering the gap created and therefore is priced accordingly. Any action that Biden might take to increase oil production in the U.S. would take years to percolate through the system as there are thousands of acres of federal land that have been leased to oil companies for years but never drilled on.

Gov. Abbott’s calamitous political stunt targeting international trade cost Texas more than $4 billion in damages, the economic consulting firm The Perryman Group. The consultants estimate that Abbott’s now-rescinded policy which required commercial vehicles to undergo additional inspections after passing through federal border check points but didn’t actually do much checking “will cost the equivalent of 77,000 job years for the country and 36,300 for Texas’ economy,” according to The Dallas Morning News.

In the city of Pharr, one of the busiest land crossings in the country, Abbott’s political stunt cost the area roughly $200 million every single day in losses. The Perryman Group estimates that Abbott caused the nation roughly $9 billion in lost gross domestic product.

“The biggest losses were to the manufacturing sector, which took about 50% of the hit, followed by retail trade, wholesale trade and financial activities,” The Dallas Morning News reported. “Manufacturing and retail made up the bulk of the job losses.”

When Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador called Abbott’s border shenanigans “a very despicable way to act”, Abbott responded by threatening to reinstate his unpopular policy, claiming he has “the capability at any time” to resume his unnecessary secondary inspections.

Even Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a real right-wing nut-job, complained to NPR that "You're already seeing things like bananas, avocados, lemons and limes" go up in price because of this stunt.

The next time your conservative neighbors try to bash Joe Biden on the economy, remind them that it was Greg Abbott alone who cost the state billions of dollars and caused higher inflation on grocery store shelves all to look good to Trump voters when he makes a run for the presidency in 2024.